PASTEURIZATION OF HIGH QUALITY ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICES USING NONTHERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

Organic processors currently rely on high temperature as the sole processing option for the pasteurization / sterilization of juices. However, the thermal processing of fruit juices and fruit concentrates is known to affect nutrient content (e.g., loss of thermo-labile vitamins B1, B2, A), antioxidant capacity, and/or organoleptic properties (e.g., flavor, cloudiness, color) depending on the specific product. The overall goal of this Research and Extension Planning Proposal is to assess the critical needs and potential impact of a systems-based comprehensive proposal on the application of nonthermal technologies for the processing of safe and high quality organic fruit juices. Specific objectives include: (1) Survey of Juice processors and assessment of their knowledge and attitudes towards nonthermal technologies, (2) Design commodity-specific safety and quality experiments and confirm the feasibility for coordinating multi-institution experiments, (3) Integrate a steering committee to determine the specific key elements for success including safety, quality, and cost, (4) Submit a proposal to USDA-NIFA-Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative in 2011. This one year proposal is designed to actively involve organic processors on nonthermal technologies. To achieve these objectives, funds will be used to organize (a) two strategic meetings (06/2010, 11/2010) and (b) a feasibility experiment, where a single source juice will be processed by the various institutions involved in this project. This is a multi-institutional team with expertise on nonthermal technologies including high pressure homogenization, high hydrostatic pressure, UV light, and plasma processing. The team has also extensive expertise on microbiology and sensory evaluation of fruit juices, engineering and processing operations, and outreach and education.